Don't look now, but there are 1,300+ Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) channels available free of charge on the Internet. And to think that back in the 1980s some thought cable TV was content overload, with its forty some-odd channels (plus cursing). But IPTV isn't merely a vast choice of content broadcast online; its offerings are richly featured with user options for viewers and the content is largely tailored by a demand as finite as the niche-friendly Internet allows. A confluence of factors, mostly due to Internet based technology, has created tempting opportunities for online advertisers. This bodes well for all involved in the interactive niche, from advertising agencies like ICMediaDirect.com to search marketers of all sizes and even freelance professionals. Let's take a closer look.
The convergence that IPTV represents, where television meets the PC, owes much to the explosion of broadband capability that's well on its way to becoming the standard, as opposed to a luxury. Broadband connection should simply be thought of as a greater performance capability between your computer and the Internet, a wider spigot for information flow, if you will. And through this spigot we receive data in the form of Internet Protocol packets that make up content for media consumption. Improvements in software and computers allow us to watch hi-resolution video along with stereo quality sound on our home computers.
The promise in this capability is not lost on media companies and advertisers. Cognizant that online advertising topped $12.5 billion in 2005, up about $3 billion from the previous year, IPTV is being eyed like candy as the centerpiece for the telecom dream of delivering the ?triple play? to consumers.
This ballyhooed triple play is the convergence of voice, data, and video - telecoms are best poised to capture this prized market, through partnerships from the big Internet players of course. Many of the deals we see today, most recently Google's agreement to syndicate and distribute Viacom offerings to third-party web properties, will be ramped-up until the medium firmly establishes itself. Indeed, the advertisers like Google will get good practice at delivering web-based video ads through content like MTV or VH-1 that allow a decent degree of targeting with full measurability on the behalf of the advertiser.
And the plans are ambitious with good reason. According to the Multimedia Research Group IPTV subscribers currently number somewhere shy of 4 million today while some 36.9 million is projected by 2009. This number may sound ambitious, but I think it isn't. Just look at YouTube's runaway success. In less than the course of one year this video on demand website went from scratch to the number 16 most trafficked website, according to Alexa.com. Friends have forwarded most of us YouTube videos; I consider it is the ultimate viral platform yet witnessed via the Internet. And speaking of YouTube, I also believe that because it is a platform, a service that's enabled by recent improvement in broadband coverage and video capabilities of hand-helds and PCs, it will be hard-pressed to maintain its stunning dominance in the field. The methodology is simple enough that it will be duplicated. YouTube will likely pair with a bigger fish (Yahoo, perhaps) and become a footnote in the larger convergent trend that brings this triple play to life. Just as the competitive marathon runner knows no finish line, neither does this field. The elusive ?quad? play, that's voice, data, video with mobility is talked about now, too. I guess I'm some kind of pawn, since I use a Cingular 8125 pocket PC. I walked into a Cingular store to see what I could do about securing a cheaper plan since my carryover minutes are now numbering in the thousands. I don't really know what happened, but I walked out with this computer/video camera/phone/etc. that fits in my pocket. At least we know salesmanship still counts.
The actions of media companies today are done with a surety that advertising money will follow. Just this week Comcast cable, bolstered by a recently expanded online-sales team, announced it will be opening its Comcast.net portal to all customers. Comcast will recruit customers to its high-speed-data transmission access and deliver them ad supported content with online video entertainment being paramount. This cable giant is not merely expanding its online presence, but potentially positioning itself to primarily becoming an interactive content provider ? that's the scope of convergence. Ad budgets are making online allowances to fill the inventories for moves like Comcast's and you can be sure that this convergent trend will continue.
People from third-world or developing countries who want to get updated or advanced education from industrialized nations are having a hard time, mostly because of immigration or visa requirements. This is much is true in countries like Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, whose immigration qualifications are very stringent. In some countries, the United States requires that a certain amount be placed in trust as a bond to ensure that visitors do return to their countries of origin.
Educators in these developed countries recognize the desire of foreign students to avail themselves of superior standards in education. This is where the internet becomes a central tool in global, quality education.
If you go online today, you will find plenty of colleges, universities and even Ivy League institutions offering online education ranging from certification, degree, post graduate and doctorate level courses. These online schools and universities are certainly convenient for those who cannot enter developed countries due to lack of qualifications for visa approval requirements.
In the domestic front, these online schools become an alternative to the physically handicapped or mentally ill. For people with motor dysfunctions such as Parkinson’s disease, online education becomes a saving grace in their lives. It not only becomes convenient, but it also provides these people with a connection to the world right in their own home. Having the burden of education addressed by the internet is a convenience for the operators of care facilities as they can exclusively use these online schools for the education of their patients or as extra sources and materials used in their curriculum.
With all of these in mind, new materials and tools for online instruction need to be developed. Foremost among these necessary tools is audio and video streaming through the internet. Audio-video streaming allows for two people to instantly communicate from distinctly separate locations. An instructor can use the internet to talk to his or her student face to face, so to speak.
One thing our educators agree upon is that there is no better teacher than experience. In recent years, companies started manufacturing educational videos for use by infants. By using these video, infants are projected to start learning at an earlier age than before. Because of the audio-video experience, the attention given to these videos by an infant is considerably more than they would give to a children’s book. In being able to grab attention and interest, the video succeeds in educating the mind of the child.
In the same manner, the use of audio and video in the education of older children, juveniles and adults is a more interesting and entertaining experience than a plain chemistry book. With a person actually able to see the animated structure of an atom, the curiosity of that individual is stimulated. When people become curious, their imagination becomes active and they strive to gather more information about the subject.
This is where the importance of education through video lies. The content (assuming that it is interesting) grabs the viewers’ attention and stirs their curiosity, thereby stimulating a thirst for knowledge.
As internet audio-video streaming technology improves, the more use they will become to online educational institutions. People who have knowledge of how to install and use these utilities are quickly becoming assets to many entrepreneurs, especially those businesses that are situated in the internet.
The use of video streaming technology by websites has ballooned significantly. Even websites designed by amateurs and those people who have their own blog sites are starting to sprout videos. Video streaming is starting to grow. You might want to grow with it.
Both Joseph Pratt & T. Detty are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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